It is said that in ancient times, those who excelled at employing people must follow the laws of nature, conform to human disposition, and make rewards and punishments clear. By following the laws of nature, one exerts little effort yet establishes great merit. By conforming to human disposition, one uses fewer punishments yet ensures that decrees are carried out. By making rewards and punishments clear, even Boyi and Robber Zhi will not be confused. In this way, black and white are distinctly separated.
In a well-governed state, ministers render service to the state to assume their positions, demonstrate their abilities in their offices to receive their appointments, and exert their utmost within the bounds of the law to carry out their duties. All ministers are suited to their abilities, competent in their offices, and find their tasks unburdensome. None harbor unspent strength in their hearts, nor do they burden the ruler with the responsibilities of holding multiple offices. Therefore, there are no internal rebellions born of hidden resentments, and no external disasters like the defeat at Ma-fu.
A wise ruler ensures that official duties do not overlap, so there are no disputes; he ensures that officials do not hold multiple posts, so their skills become specialized; he ensures that people do not compete for the same merits, so there is no contention. When disputes cease and specialized skills are established, the strong and the weak do not clash in brute force, and like ice and charcoal, they do not mix in form. No one in the world is able to harm another – this is the ultimate state of good governance.
Note
This passage comes from Han Feizi · Employing People, a core chapter in which Han Fei discusses how rulers can select and administer talents in a rational manner. He lays out the ultimate insight of Legalist philosophy on personnel management, and paints a picture of an ideal bureaucratic system with well‑defined powers and responsibilities, where every official gives full play to their capabilities.
Boyi (伯夷):
A legendary nobleman from the late Shang dynasty who, along with his brother Shu Qi, refused to eat the grain of the Zhou dynasty because they considered its conquest illegitimate. They starved to death on Mount Shouyang. Boyi became the ultimate cultural symbol of extreme moral purity, integrity, and incorruptibility. Han Fei uses him as the benchmark for the highest moral standard.
Robber Zhi (盗跖):
The archetypal bandit and embodiment of greed and lawlessness in ancient Chinese literature. Han Fei pairs Boyi and Robber Zhi to illustrate that under a system of clear rewards and punishments, even the most extreme opposites in moral character can be distinctly categorized and managed without confusion.
The Disaster at Ma-fu (马服之患):
This refers to Zhao Kuo (赵括), the son of the famous general Zhao She, who was ennobled as the Lord of Ma-fu (马服君). During the Battle of Changping, Zhao Kuo replaced the veteran general Lian Po but relied solely on bookish military theory (“paper talk” / 纸上谈兵). He led the Zhao army into a catastrophic ambush by the Qin forces, resulting in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Zhao soldiers. “The disaster at Ma-fu” became a permanent cultural idiom for the fatal consequences of appointing incompetent people to critical positions based on theoretical knowledge rather than practical ability.
Following the laws of nature and conforming to human disposition:
This is Han Fei’s ultimate formula for leadership. “天” (nature/laws of heaven) refers to objective, systemic rules rather than mystical fate. “人” (human disposition) acknowledges that people are naturally driven by the pursuit of profit and the avoidance of harm. A good system works with these realities, not against them.
Ice and charcoal do not mix in form:
A vivid metaphor for organizational harmony through categorization. Ice and charcoal are fundamentally incompatible; if forced together, they destroy each other. Han Fei uses this to argue that a well-designed system assigns people to distinct, non-overlapping roles, preventing destructive internal friction and ensuring that opposing forces are kept safely apart.
Render service to assume positions:
This reflects the Legalist rejection of aristocratic privilege or nepotism. Positions and titles are not inherited or granted out of personal affection; they are strictly transactional, awarded solely based on measurable contributions to the state.
The ultimate state of good governance:
For Han Fei, the pinnacle of governance is not a society filled with moral saints, but a highly efficient, frictionless machine where everyone operates within clearly defined boundaries, disputes are structurally eliminated, and the system runs smoothly regardless of the ruler’s personal virtues.
闻古之善用人者，必循天顺人而明赏罚。循天，则用力寡而功立；顺人，则刑罚省而令行；明赏罚，则伯夷、盗跖不乱。如此，则白黑分矣。治国之臣，效功于国以履位，见能于官以受职，尽力于权衡以任事。人臣皆宜其能，胜其官，轻其任，而莫怀余力于心，莫负兼官之责于君。故内无伏怨之乱，外无马服之患。明君使事不相干，故莫讼；使士不兼官，故技长；使人不同功，故莫争。争讼止，技长立，则强弱不觳力，冰炭不合形，天下莫得相伤，治之至也。
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